Health Law Research Guide: Federal Agencies

A gateway to online resources, including federal, state, and international health law, health law topics, legal and medical journals and newsletters, legal and medical agencies and organizations, and relevant discussion groups.

Part of DHHS. Established to provide evidence-based information on health care outcomes: access, quality, cost and use. It provides online clinical information, including agency-supported and other Clinical Practice Guidelines, and research findings.

Part of DHHS. It operates under congressional mandate to prevent exposure, adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution in the environment. The website includes its HazDat Database.

An agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, it has a mission to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. The website contains health news, fact sheets on disease prevention, health information from A to Z, CDC Prevention Guidelines and health data standards, scientific data, surveillance, health statistics reports and laboratory information, and a directory of state and territorial public health directors.

Created in 1977 to administer Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The website provides access to Medicare and Medicaid publications, regulations and guidance, statistics and data, and CMS forms.

HRSA is concerned with health care for medically underserved populations - the poor, the uninsured, and those with special health needs. Its Information Center lists newsletters, publications, and other resources that can be ordered at no cost.

The agency is charged with improving dissemination of health services research results, focusing on the growing body of clinical practice guidelines. It links to several searchable databases including HSRProj, citations to health service research projects in progress funded by federal/foundation grants and contracts, and HSTAT, full-text clinical practice guidelines, technology assessments, and evidence-based medicine reports.

NIH is the world's largest medical library and the creator of PubMed, which includes pre-MEDLINE and MEDLINE citations, a bibliographic database of 11+ million citations from over 4,000 journals in fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences.

Part of the Department of Labor, it operates under the authority of the OSH Act of 1970. It establishes protective standards to prevent injuries and protect the health of America's workers, enforces those standards, and reaches out to employers and employees through technical assistance and consultation programs.

Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, it develops, analyzes, evaluates and coordinates HHS policies and programs which support the independence, productivity, health and long-term care needs of children, adults and the elderly with disabilities.

Comprised of 12 core public health offices under the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Health, who provides advice on public health and science issues to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. It is the focal point for leadership and coordination in public health and science.

Active November 28, 2001 - June 11, 2009, site now being archived. Includes reports, documents, and other documents. Also lists all former U.S. national bioethics commissions (and a few prominent international ones), with all of their reports (and, where available, downloadable copies).

Responsible for continuing study of the problems and opportunities of older people, including those related to maintaining health. Its website lists proposed legislation and free publications. It also maintains a fraud hotline.